For the Georgetown men’s lacrosse team (8-2, 4-1 ECAC), Senior Day couldn’t have been any sweeter. The teams’ seniors said goodbye to The Yard with their last regular season home game, ending in an 8-6 victory over conference rival and No. 8 UMass (8-3, 3-2).
One player, graduate student goalie Rich D’Andrea, had a chance to redeem himself for last year’s bitter loss on Senior Day and made the most of it. The goalie and former defensive starter, who plays goalie as a temporary replacement for injured sophomore Miles Kass, didn’t play like a back-up. In his third start, he recorded seven groundballs and 15 saves, three of which came in the final two minutes, protecting the Hoyas’ two-goal lead.
“It was nice to get a win for some of these guys who are, I guess, back for their second Senior Day,” joked sophomore Brendan Cannon, who had one goal on the day. “Rich really stepped up, though. He played out of his mind.”
“I’ve been working pretty hard these last couple weeks, and I’ve had a lot of support from the rest of the guys on the team,” D’Andrea said. “I’ve become a little more comfortable with each game. I am fortunate to have been doing this for about three years, so it’s not the most dramatic jump.”
D’Andrea earned Defensive Player of the Week honors with his solid play in goal despite seeing shots from the nation’s leading scorer, Minuteman senior attacker Sean Morris. The shifty Morris had three goals on the game, scoring two in the third quarter. He cut the lead to 7-6, keeping his team in the game.
“He’s a heck of a player. There’s no way you’re going to shut him down,” said Hoya head coach Urick, who had multiple defenders deny Morris throughout the game. “He’s a Tewaaraton Trophy finalist for a reason.”
After the Hoyas’ patchy third quarter, their defense tightened up, shutting out the Minutemen for the final 15 minutes.
UMass freshman goaltender Doc Schneider frustrated his fair share of goal scorers as well, performing splits to stop balls that seemed destined for the back of the net.
“We were pretty confident that if we were patient, took our time and waited for a good shot that we would be able to get them,” Cannon said. “Thankfully, the defense kept us in the game as long as they did.”
With just over two minutes left in the fourth quarter, another graduate student and Senior Day veteran, midfielder Dave Paolisso, netted the Hoyas’ eighth score off of a quick feed from junior attacker Trevor Casey, making the score 8-6.
From there the Hoyas’ converted goalie slammed the door on the Minutemen’s relentless attack during a quarter that couldn’t end soon enough for the Hoyas.
“That was probably one of the longest fourth quarters I’ve ever played in,” D’Andrea said.
“At halftime we knew we were still in the game and we had a few chances,” Minuteman Morris said. “But D’Andrea played well and really won the game for them.”
D’Andrea and the fifth-ranked Hoyas hope to continue their defensive dominance as they finish out the season and look towards earning a possible home field game during the post-season tournament. They play this Saturday against Rutgers at 1 p.m.
